CAT Hands True 3G Windfall

[jfchandler]

Some in Thailand might call this karmic retribution, perhaps....

Thai State Operator Seeking Damages from Private Rival

By: Ian Mansfield | 28th Jan 2011: 5:03pm ­Thailand's state-owned mobile network, TOT has said that it will consider legal action over a demand for Bt75 billion ($2.3 billion) in damages that it is claiming over amendments to its operating concession. Finance Permanent Secretary Areepong Bhoocha-oom, as chairman of TOT, said that the state agency, which owns concession to AIS has already notified the company of the damage claim.

Of the total demand, Bt30 billion is related to the telecom excise tax amended by the Thaksin administration in 2003 and the rest related to the sixth and seventh concession amendments. TOT is claiming that the amendments were illegal, and that AIS therefore paid less than it should have over the past few years.

However, AIS responded, stating that the TOT benefited from the lower percentages as subscriber numbers surged following tariff reductions. Although the percentage was lower, the overall cash payment was higher than had been projected under the earlier regime.

The Thai concession scheme enables the private networks to operate, in exchange for making payments based on a percentage of their revenues to the state-owned networks. Over time, the rates being paid have been amended to reduce the payments, although the TOT is now trying to argue that these changes were illegal.

Cellular News

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/47632.php

[whybother]

GPRS/EDGE = the old wireless Internet access that you can get on almost any phone, from any of the wireless phone carriers. Let's call it 0.2 Mbps international download, at least in Phuket. Only on 850 MHz. (Most people call this "2G" but I hate to use the "G" naming system because anybody can claim anything is any "G"!)

1G was analogue phones.

2G was digital phones.

2.5G was digital phones with internet (packet switching).

3G is better quality 2.5G.

3.5G is enhanced 3G but is sometimes pretending to be 4G.

4G is full IP (including VOIP). 4G doesn't have an accepted standard yet.

5G is unknown and isn't expected until 2020.

[jfchandler]

Someone above raised the good question of how TOT and CAT could be doing their respective 3G deals now.... after the govt. prior bid to sell 3G licenses via auction had been stopped by legal problems... Apparently, here is the explanation....

Efforts to sell off 3G licences must wait until the formation of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission... A planned auction of 3G licences by the NTC was scrapped at the last moment late last year after a court challenge over the bid's legality.

But operators may still seek the right to sell 3G services by forming partnerships with the state-owned TOT Corp and CAT Telecom as so-called mobile virtual network operators.

The TOT contract awarded yesterday aims to give the state enterprise a headstart in developing 3G infrastructure as AIS and Dtac wait for the country's new regulator to be formed.

[jfchandler]

More from The Nation today on the True-CAT deal... It certainly sounds like something fishy was going on....

[Crushdepth]

CAT's major function in life is to obstruct communications development in Thailand.

[drdoom6996]

So what will this mean to the rural communities? Will adequate internet connections be made available throughout Thailand, or will this merely give urban dwellers better service than they already have?

I have the same problem with the same question and I think we all know the answer. I hope I am wrong, but...........................................

[MaiChai]

Why does it have to be a 3g race? MOST countries have at least 3 companies operating 3g on 2100mhz. This means consumer choice and competition.

We all have seen how well the government phones companies operate. The worse thing that could happen for 3g in Thailand is for the government monopolies to run it. We all know the mobile phone operations are run better via commercial companies rather than government beaucracies. I had no end of problems with Imobile/tot 3g, and am glad I am no longer with them.

Why aren't tot and cat merged? Because someone powerful won't allow it.

I have worked for many mobile phone companies around the world, including all the operators in Thailand; i think i know what i am talking about.

Edited January 29, 2011 by MaiChai

[jfchandler]

I think most people would agree, competition among private 3G operators is the best way to go...

I think most people also would agree, 3G service provided by private companies in partnership with the government agencies is better than no 3G service at all...

[Bagwan]

Sorry, but I don't understand what's going on.

You are in good company. Neither does the Government. Ignorance is bliss. Another beer terak please.

[jybkk]

So, HSPA is synonymous with 3G on the GSM platform... 3G on the CDMA platform (I gather) is often referred to as EVDO...

Fascinating! I didn't know that TOT had authorization to run on the 2.1 GHz spectrum. Thank you, jybkk! You guys in Bangkok get all the juicy stuff. <grin>

Seriously, here's what's confusing you, jfc. Let me take this from slow to fast:

GPRS/EDGE = the old wireless Internet access that you can get on almost any phone, from any of the wireless phone carriers. Let's call it 0.2 Mbps international download, at least in Phuket. Only on 850 MHz. (Most people call this "2G" but I hate to use the "G" naming system because anybody can claim anything is any "G"!)

CDMA EV-DO = it's been available for a few years, only from Hutch in the 21 provinces near BKK. Only from CAT in the other provinces. Considerably faster, 1 to 1.5 Mbps. Good coverage. Only on 850 MHz. (I've seen this referred to as "3G" but it isn't, really. More like "2.5G" or something along those lines.)

HSPA = it's been available in Thailand, as far as I know, for a year or so, and the service is always called "pilot" or "experimental" or something similar. Good speed: I've clocked it at 2 Mbps to 5 Mbps international download, here in Phuket. Both TOT and CAT have towers. True and DTAC run their iPhone service off of the CAT towers. Apparently there are many towers in BKK proper, with good reception over much of the city. In Phuket, there are only 8 towers, they all belong to CAT, and they're on the west coast of the island. Until ten minutes ago, I thought HSPA was only available in Thailand at 850 MHz. I may be wrong.

LTE = not yet available in Thailand. Runs considerably faster, say 20 Mbps (although speeds vary considerably in the US and Europe).

@jybkk, are the towers in the map at 850 MHz or 2.1 GHz?

When the government advertised they were auction off "3G" spectrum, they were selling 2.1 GHz frequencies, presumably (although not necessarily) for HSPA systems.

TOT 3G towers on the map are 2.1GHz indeed.

You can check on their website (FAQ#4, I ran it through google translate which, in this case, did a pretty decent job)

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=th&tl=en&u=http://www1.tot3g.net/Faq.aspx

[woodyleonhard]

TOT 3G towers on the map are 2.1GHz indeed.

You can check on their website (FAQ#4, I ran it through google translate which, in this case, did a pretty decent job)

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=th&tl=en&u=http://www1.tot3g.net/Faq.aspx

Thanks for bearing with me, everybody. I think I now understand. My basic problem is that I haven't been keeping up on developments in BKK.

Here's what I think is happening - a recap I'll Tweet, so forgive me for covering old ground. Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Caveat: This is the situation as of today. It will change next week. When the lawsuits start flying - and they will - there's no telling what will happen.

CAT has CDMA/EV-DO service at 850 MHz throughout Thailand. In BKK and 21 surrounding provinces, Hutch had the concession, and sold both the hardware and the monthly subscriptions. In the other 51 provinces, CAT markets EV-DO directly to consumers.

At the same time, CAT has HSPA (so-called "3G") service, also at 850 MHz, in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, the extreme western coast of Phuket, and possibly other parts of the country. True and DTAC both have arrangements with CAT to provide HSPA service, although it's officially billed as "experimental" or "non-commercial trial." That's the service currently driving iPhones: if you have an iPhone with "3G" service, you're paying either True or DTAC for the service. They, in turn, pay CAT. The iPhone HSPA service is at 850 MHz.

True just bought the Hutch interest in the EV-DO network (apparently with CAT's blessing) and announced it's going to change the EV-DO service to HSPA, at 850 MHz, in BKK and 21 surrounding provinces. That leaves a host of open questions for consumers:

• What happens to Hutch's customers when the EV-DO network disappears?
  
• Will CAT change the EV-DO service in the other 51 provinces?
  
• Will this new HSPA service merge with True's existing HSPA service?
  

TOT does not have a CDMA/EV-DO network, but it does have an HSPA "3G" network, entirely in BKK, operating at 2.1 GHz. (Most HSPA networks worldwide are at 2.1 GHz or thereabouts, so it's easy to find, e.g., 3G telephones that work at 2.1 GHz.) I believe that AIS offers HSPA service in some parts of BKK, through TOT. I know that AIS does not have HSPA in Phuket.

The government tried to divvy up the 2.1 GHz band in an auction last October, but the auction was blocked by the courts. The courts determined that constitutional law required the government to wait before auctioning off 2.1 GHz licenses until the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission was formed. Thailand has been trying to form the NBTC for more than five years, so the blocked auction left TOT as the only operator willing and able to offer HSPA channels at 2.1 GHz.

As of earlier this week, TOT had formed partnerships with three small companies to use its HSPA network:

• iMobile, run by Samart
  
• iKool, run by Loxley
  
• Mojo, run by Mconzult
  

iMobile, iKool and Mojo are tiny companies. Samart and Loxley are two of the largest telecom companies in Thailand. The three tiny companies were allowed to use TOT's 3G service because the law allowed TOT to form partnerships with "Mobile Virtual Network Operators". MVNO companies are allowed to market HSPA service under their own name, using the TOT (or CAT) network.

This past week there was a flurry of activity, including a lawsuit, that culminated in the announcement yesterday that a consortium of Samart and Loxley had been awarded a B 16 billion contract to build out TOT's 2.1 GHz HSPA system. There is no provision in the contract for operating the network, once it's built.

The contract is expected to be confirmed on Feb 11, unless it ends up in court. The contract calls for Samart and Loxley to build an HSPA network in 13 provinces in the next three months (Chon Buri, Rayong, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Phitsanulok, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen and Nong Khai). It also includes B 2 billion to upgrade the existing network in BKK.

Once the network is working, TOT can decide whether it wants to market the HSPA "3G" service itself, or whether it will farm that out to another company. The law is murky about whether TOT is allowed to farm it out, except under MVNO terms - which are, themselves, murky.

In a separate development, TOT is threatening to sue AIS for B 75 billion in back concession payments, so the chances of AIS taking over marketing the new HSPA network are slim indeed.

Bottom line for the companies: CAT and True are in cahoots, and they'll build an HSPA network at 850 MHz. TOT and Samart/Loxley are working together to build an HSPA network at 2.1 GHz, but it isn't clear who will offer that service once it's ready. DTAC and AIS are waiting for the NBTC to get formed, as are many other companies, so they can bid on their own 2.1 GHz frequencies.

Bottom line for consumers: now's a bad time to buy an EV-DO card from Hutch, and it's probably a bad time to buy one from CAT. It's highly likely that your True "3G" connection will continue to work for the foreseeable future, and access will probably be extended throughout Thailand before too long.

Any other likely conclusions?

Edited January 29, 2011 by woodyleonhard

[MaiChai]

Its akin to lots of warring tribes fighting each other for control? With no arbitrator!

It also proves that you can never be sure of the outcome, from a legal perspective, in Thailand. I mean there are lots of laws that contradict each other and its at the discretion of the judge to choose which laws should be interpreted.

One thing for sure: this is not the last of the twists an turns this story will take; maybe we arnt even half way to the conclusion?